Step 6: Initialize the Citrix Cloud Resource Location
Overview
This section aims to access the Citrix Cloud Console, integrate it with your Google Cloud project and resources, and prepare to publish applications and desktops.
Citrix Cloud is a platform that hosts and administers Citrix services. It connects to your resources through connectors on any cloud or infrastructure you choose (on-premises, public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud). It allows you to create, manage, and deploy workspaces with apps and data to your end-users from a single console.
This deployment guide requires you to have a Citrix Cloud account with an active CVADS subscription. After signing up for Citrix Cloud, you can request service trials for the Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service within the console. You need both a Citrix Cloud account and an active subscription before you can complete this goal.
Citrix Cloud Resource Location
Resource locations contain the resources required to deliver cloud services to your subscribers. You manage these resources from the Citrix Cloud console. To create a resource location, install at least two Cloud Connectors in your domain. The resource location is wherever the resources reside, whether that is a public or private cloud. In the case of this deployment guide, the resources reside on the Google Cloud Platform. The proximity to subscribers or data influences the choice of location. This guide deploys a single Server VDA resource location in Google Cloud region us-west1. A single Citrix Cloud Connector is installed each in the us-west1-a and us-west1-b zone for high availability.
1 Create Citrix Cloud resource location
The goal of this first task is to create the resource location we are installing Citrix Cloud Connectors into. These tasks can be completed from any web browser.
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Navigate to https://cloud.citrix.com
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Log in to the Citrix Cloud console using your username
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Input your password
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Click Sign In
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Enter the verification code provided by your authenticator app
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Click Verify
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If you’re an administrator on multiple Citrix Cloud tenants, select the appropriate account when prompted.
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Click Edit or Add New under the Resource Location section.
Note
A single Resource Location is created by default.
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Click the three horizontal ellipses on the top left corner of the My Resource Location
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Select Manage Resource Location
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Input a unique name for the resource location: Server VDA – Google US-West1
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Click Confirm
Note
By default, Citrix Cloud installs updates on each connector, one at a time, when these updates become available. To ensure that updates are installed quickly without unduly affecting your users’ Citrix Cloud experience, you can schedule these updates for a preferred schedule.
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The result should be similar to the image:
Citrix Cloud Connector
The Citrix Cloud Connector serves as a communication channel between Citrix Cloud and your resource locations. The Cloud Connector authenticates and encrypts all communication between Citrix Cloud and the resource locations. All Cloud Connector outbound only communication is initiated using the standard HTTPS port (443) and the TCP protocol. For continuous availability and to manage load Citrix recommends at least two Cloud Connectors in each resource location. Since each Cloud Connector is stateless, the load can be automatically distributed across all available Cloud Connectors.
2 Install Citrix Cloud Connectors
The next step is to install the Citrix Cloud Connector software on your cloud connector VM instances. Installing Cloud Connectors into a resource location effectively initialize the resource location and make it usable by Citrix Cloud and its related services. Complete the following steps on each VM instance you intend to use as Cloud Connectors. You want to log into each remote console using a domain user account that is a local Administrator on the VM instance. If you’ve been following this guide, you can use the domain credential to log in to each of the Cloud Connector virtual machines:
Username: ctx\administrator
Password: P@$$w0rd!@#
Note
Step 1 through 19 is required to be performed on both the Citrix Cloud Connector VMs – CC1 and CC2.
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Log in to the CC1 virtual machine using the domain credentials provided
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Navigate to https://cloud.citrix.com and log in to the Citrix Cloud console using your username
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Input your password
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Click Sign In
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Enter the verification code provided by your authenticator app
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Click Verify
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Select your Citrix Cloud account if a Select a Customer screen is presented
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Click Edit or Add New under the Resource Location section.
Note
A single Resource Location is created by default.
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Click Cloud Connectors
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Click Download
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Click Save
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Click Open Folder
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Right-click the executable and select Run as administrator
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Click Sign In, provide username and password if prompted
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Click the drop-down and select the corresponding Citrix Cloud Organization ID
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Click Install
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The installation begins and displays the progress
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Once the installation completes, the installer does a final connectivity check to verify communication between the Cloud Connector and Citrix Cloud.
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The following screen is displayed once the connectivity test is successful. Click Close
Repeat the step 1 through 19 for the second Cloud Connector (CC2).
3 Verify Citrix Cloud resource location
Once you’ve installed Citrix Cloud Connectors into your Citrix Cloud tenant, you should be ready to begin configuring the Virtual Apps and Desktops service. You can verify readiness to begin configuring the CVAD service by checking the following:
Navigate and click the appropriate resource location. You should see your Cloud Connectors, they should be listed in the correct resource location, and they should show a green status:
Now that you’ve successfully created and initialized your Citrix Cloud resource location on the Google Cloud, it’s time to configure the Virtual Apps and Desktops service.